Family First is warning that Victoria's major parties are preparing to rig the rules of the 2026 state election to shut minor parties out of the Legislative Council.
National Director Lyle Shelton said that while Family First is not opposed to abolishing group voting tickets, any reform must not be rushed so that minor parties are effectively shut out at the 2026 election.
The Victorian Parliament's Electoral Matters Committee, which reported today, openly admits that abolishing group voting tickets while retaining the current regional structure will harm minor parties, Mr Shelton said.
"Labor and Liberal have had three years to address electoral reform but have dithered. Now at the last minute with less then 12 months to the election they have recommended a half-baked solution which advantages them.
"Abolishing group voting now but waiting until after the election to deal with the regional voting structure means the 2026 election will be unfair to voters who prefer to vote for minor parties.
"Without minor parties in the upper house the major parties will run amok.
"With the Labor and Liberal primary vote in free fall, it is easy to see why they have conspired to concoct this outcome in the report's recommendations."
Mr Shelton said abolishing group voting as a stand-alone temporary reform for the 2026 election was not acceptable. Reform needed to include the voting structure so minor parties retain a fighting chance.
"Victorians who are tired of Labor's mismanagement and the Liberals' in-fighting deserve choice at the 2026 election — not a rigged system which favours the big two," Mr Shelton said.
